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Hubiera used for "should have"

 

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  #1  
Old May 01, 2009, 10:27 AM
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Hubiera used for "should have"

I'm reading a book that deals with Spanish verb usage and the author is from Spain. There is a chapter dealing with modal verbs in Spanish, and not once does he mention that "hubiera" can be used for "should have." He gives dozens of examples using "deber" or "haber debido", but not "hubiera."

Is "hubiera" used as "should have" a Latin American usage? And if it is, do speakers from Spain understand the form?

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  #2  
Old May 01, 2009, 11:25 AM
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Some examples:

¿Estuviste en la ciudad? Me hubieras dicho para vernos.
So you were in the city? You should have told me so we would have met.

Te hubieras quedado en casa para no enfermarte.
You should have stayed at home to avoid falling ill.

No le hubieran dicho de la fiesta. Ahora ya no es sorpresa.
You shouldn't have told her/him about the party. Now it's not a surprise anymore.
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  #3  
Old May 01, 2009, 11:56 AM
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I have other examples about it.

I should have had a cat in my home.
Hubiera tenido un gato en mi casa.

I should have took to my mother to her home last night.
Hubiera llevado a mi mama anoche.


I hope these examples can help you.

I don't know if my examples can be correct.
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Old May 01, 2009, 12:35 PM
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En España sí es como dices tú:

I should have gone there
Debiera haber ido allí o Tenía que haber ido allí.

En cada país es diferente.
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  #5  
Old May 02, 2009, 02:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
Some examples:

¿Estuviste en la ciudad? Me hubieras dicho para vernos.
So you were in the city? You should have told me so we would have met.

Te hubieras quedado en casa para no enfermarte.
You should have stayed at home to avoid falling ill.

No le hubieran dicho de la fiesta. Ahora ya no es sorpresa.
You shouldn't have told her/him about the party. Now it's not a surprise anymore.
In English sometimes "should" and "supposed" are used somewhat interchangably: "He was supposed to be here yesterday"
"He should have been here yesterday"


Would you use "hubiera" in the above examples, or would "suponarse" be the better choice (or maybe something entirely different)?

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  #6  
Old May 02, 2009, 05:47 PM
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@Tacuba: "Hubiera" is used when one has done something that they could/should have done otherwise or not done at all.
We have an impersonal "suponerse" for something you think/expect should be/should have been done in some way and it wasn't so.


¿Estuviste en la ciudad? Me hubieras dicho para vernos.
So you were in the city? You should have told me so we would have met.
You're regretting the other person didn't call you... it would have been a nice chance to meet each other.

¿Estuviste en la ciudad? Se suponía que me ibas a llamar para vernos.
So you were in the city? You were supposed to call me to meet each other.
The other person seems to have agreed he/she would call you when visiting the city, but didn't.

¿Estuviste en la ciudad? Se suponía que nos íbamos a ver.
So you were in the city? We were supposed to meet each other.
There was actually some agreement that you both would meet when the other person would be in the city, but he/she didn't call you.


Te hubieras quedado en casa para no enfermarte.
You should have stayed at home to avoid falling ill.
So you're ill now and you could have avoided it by staying at home.

Se suponía que no saldrías de casa para no enfermarte.
You were supposed to stay at home to avoid falling ill.
Either the person said (or you thought) he/she wouldn't leave home so he/she wouldn't fall ill, but he/she did and he/she is ill now.


No le hubieran dicho de la fiesta. Ahora ya no es sorpresa.
You shouldn't have told her/him about the party. Now it's not a surprise anymore.
You regret they have told the person there was a surprise party.

No se suponía que supiera. Se suponía/se supone que era/es sorpresa.
He/she wasn't supposed to know about the party. It was/is supposed to be a surprise.
You found out the person for whom the party will be held knows about it, so you're kind of upset that the surprise has been ruined.

No se suponía que le dijeran de la fiesta. Ahora ya no es sorpresa.
You weren't supposed to have told her/him about the party. Now it's not a surprise anymore.
You're rather scolding the ones who told him/her about the party.
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  #7  
Old May 02, 2009, 06:19 PM
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Thank you so much for such a clear and detailed explanation.

"The plumber was supposed to be here yesterday, but he didn't show up."
"Se suponía que el plomero llegó ayer, pero no se presentó"


Am I on the right track?
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  #8  
Old May 03, 2009, 08:02 AM
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Let me add a bit more:

Should have = HUbiera, debiera, debería.

Angelica and Irmamar are correct.
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Old May 03, 2009, 02:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tacuba View Post
Thank you so much for such a clear and detailed explanation.

"The plumber was supposed to be here yesterday, but he didn't show up."
"Se suponía que el plomero llegaría/vendría ayer, pero no se presentó"

Am I on the right track?

Absolutely!!
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Old August 10, 2009, 03:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chileno View Post
Let me add a bit more:

Should have = HUbiera, debiera, debería.

Angelica and Irmamar are correct.
Then that words are correct as you are describing them.

I should have seen the soap opera yesterday.


This examples only apply to the phrase Hubiera and deberia too.
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